August: Someone you can trust
by e Pon
Summary: As Gravity Falls draws to a gut wrenching end, we go back and take a different timeline as we follow Mabel and Dipper through the second half of their summer. They meet familiar and unfamiliar strangers, uncover new secrets and take on a whole new challenge: finding those they can trust. This story is named for my friend August, a great writer who has given me great encouragement.
1. Prologue: A Typical Morning

Prologue

A Typical Morning

Ugh... Is it that time already? It's like my eyes are allergic to sunlight or something, I guess I did stay up late reading last night. Oh. Hey, morning. I didn't see you there, well actually I can't see you, since you know, you're the reader and all. My name is Dipper, and for this section I'll be telling you all about my summer in a little town called Gravity Falls. It's been pretty crazy, I suppose it could almost become a TV show one day, heck if it were, you should probably go watch it before reading this. No one likes spoilers.

"Morning Dipper! And what a Mabel morning it is!"

Hold on, my crazy sister's waving at me from across the room. We've been sharing the attic of our great uncle's house ever since we arrived here for our summer visit. Her name is Mabel.

"I'm Mabel! That's me!"

Yes… I think they got that. I had better answer her.

"Morning Mabel, that _was_ your name right?"

Ha! And they say I'm never funny…

"Oof!"

News flash, Mabel's pretty good at throwing pillows when you make fun of her.

"Ha! You big gummy brain!"

Oh I'm not just taking that, it's on!

"You're a gummy brain!"

Take that! She just got a pillow shot to the face. Yup, we're definitely twin brother and sister, but I'd never ask for anything else.

"You throw like a girl! And not the Grenda kind."

She always teases me like that, but we hardly ever fight. Getting to mess around with her has kinda been the highlight of my summer. I know she seems sorta nuts, but when you're a member of the Pines family... you get pretty used to that.

Wait… what was I talking about? Oh right, Gravity Falls. This place is off-the-charts-spooky. We've almost died more times than I like to note. We were first attacked by a horde of gnomes that somehow combined to make a bearded transformer. Ever since it's been robotic sea monsters, ghosts, dinosaurs, multiple-headed bears, a candy monster, gargoblins… you get the idea. I initially discovered the strange wonders of this place when I came across an unusual journal in the woods. It seems that someone else studied these mysteries a long time ago, before disappearing and leaving behind his legacy in this journal. Here's the weird thing, there are more. The six-fingered handprint on the cover has a '3' marked in the centre. I also know of at least one person who had another journal. Oh, but don't worry about him, he's been taken away somewhere. Quite right too… nutjob.

Anyhow, now our summer is half over, or half started if you're anything like Mabel, who happens to be poking me with a stick right now.

"Mabel! Enough with the fun stick!"

"Aw, but don't you want a _fun_ start to a _fun_ day?!"

…I'm just going to ignore that before 'fun' stops sounding like a word. Well, with half our summer to come, we've still got plenty of room for adventure, discovery, learning and er… fun.

So! On with the story.


	2. Chapter One: Age Old Issues

Chapter One

Age Old Issues

As the sun parted with the horizon in the warm summer sky of Oregon, its gentle rays roused roosting birds which began a soft harmony. This was soon accompanied by a soft beat, provided by a group of scattered woodpeckers. A small brook rippled against the influence of the wind, which then met with a creaky weather vane and sent it spinning on its stand. The woodland creatures of Gravity Falls be they squirrel, toad or magical barf fairy all peacefully shared the tranquillity of another early morning. However as a small group of these critters passed number 618 Gopher Road, also known fondly by the townsfolk as 'The Mystery Shack', their quiet morning met an unwelcome interruption.

The sounds of childish giggling and old floor boards creaking filled the Hallway as Dipper and Mabel burst from their attic bedroom. Dipper was still pulling his navy, sleeveless jacket over one arm while calling after a colourfully dressed Mabel. Her wavy mop of brown hair seemed to levitate behind her as she raced to the top of the stairs. It was clear who was the most accustomed to mornings.

"I bet you can't beat me to the kitchen!" Truthfully speaking, he'd probably bet the same wager. But when either of the twins issued a challenge, it was certain they'd end up competing with each other.

"Oh yeah? Bring it sister!" The small boy chortled while flicking off his trademark baseball cap and pulling it down over her head, covering her eyes.

"Waaargh?!" It took a few wobbly steps backward before Mabel regained her balance, she could hear the rapid footsteps of Dipper already half-way to the bottom of the staircase.

Any other sibling might cry 'cheater' or complain, but conflict rarely pressured the relationship of these two. Instead, she gave a raucous cackle and counter-attacked by throwing the offending hat back at her challenger, who was struck in the forehead.

"Ah! Hey!"

They were neck and neck, both grinning and rapidly approaching the kitchen doorway, when a hunched figure cast a shadow across the threshold.

"Gah!"

"Woop!"

"Ah! Sonofanutcracker!"

Despite throwing on the brakes, the rambunctious pair had collided with a pretty heavy obstacle. Their great uncle Stan, still in a white vest and striped boxer shorts, peeled himself off the floor with a grunt.

"Oh man, sorry Grunkle Stan." Dipper still smiled and replaced his hat, while Mabel dusted off her baggy sweater with a joyful yet distant expression. Today's sweater was green and decorated with reindeer shapes.

"Bah! It's too early in the morning to be racing around like idiots." The grouchy elder shuffled in his loafers to the stove. "Now race your idiot butts to the table without breaking anything."

"You got it Stan-the-Man!" Mabel gave a cheerful salute and the two seated themselves for breakfast. They'd quickly gotten used to Stan's grumpiness, besides his demeanour softened when it came to his niece and nephew.

"I honestly don't know where you kids don't get your energy..." Their Grunkle plated up three stacks of fresh pancakes and scratched his curved back.

"Oh Grunkle Stan, I bet you were quite the little rascal when you were our age." Chirped Mabel, impatiently drumming her palms on the table. Sat beside her, Dipper was already engrossed in the daily newspaper and quietly mumbling while stroking his chin.

"Heh, what I wouldn't give to be that young again…" Stan's voice was as rough and gravelly as his skin, which was pretty dense with body hair. He sported two big ears and a reddened nose of equal size, leading Mabel to often compare him to an elephant; a grumpy, sarcastic elephant.

After sloppily laying breakfast and his morning coffee on the table, the old elephant swaggered out of the room with a grumble.

"Gotta hit the can."

Mabel gave a concerned look and proceeded to squirt syrup over her pancakes, drawing a happy elephant who for some reason wore a bow tie.

"Poor Grunkle Stan, if only he were a few years younger." She piped up.

Dipper sniggered from behind his newspaper.

"Yeah, more like a few centuries."

She pouted at him and squeezed the syrup bottle to make a rude sound.

"I'm serious!"

"You're never serious."

"I can be super serious! Like how organised I keep my summer romance scrapbook." She held up what he recognised to be an old notebook, pimped out with colours, stickers and sequins in which she kept pictures to commemorate her previous boyfriends.

"I thought you were done with summer romances?" The thought of dealing with any more of Mabel's romantic escapades was starting to send shivers down his spine.

"Brother, do you _know_ me? I'm not one to quit once I get started!" As if to prove her point, she immediately started shovelling pancake after pancake into her mouth, chewing loudly. He merely raised an eyebrow and watched her, waiting. It only took a few moments before she began spluttering.

"Ugh… must… finish… metaphor." There was a cough and splutter before she collected herself.

"Anyway, who knows? Maybe you'll find a little summer romance of your own now you're past what happened with Wend- " She was cut off by Dipper shoving another pancake into her mouth.

Mabel spouted illegible nonsense, muffled by her floury breakfast when Grunkle Stan re-entered the room.

"Aah... violence and force-feeding, two things I can get behind." The kitchen chair shrieked against the wooden flooring and creaked under his weight when he joined them at the table.

"Grunkle Stan, is being old _that_ bad?" Mabel's head flopped sideways to emphasise the question. She was endowed with a pretty flexible neck.

"It's like waiting for death… only you're waiting at an airport and your flight's been delayed for the past 25 years." He was always to the point, tone flat and dry. "That's why they call 'em terminals."

The newspaper dropped over the table when Dipper finally decided to pay some attention to his breakfast. "Well personally, I wouldn't mind being a little older… or at least bigger."

Mabel held her grinning cheeks and chortled. "Sorry brother, you're still just a _little Dipper."_ Both she and Stan burst into guttural fits of laughter.

"I am not! Besides we're the same age and height."

Before Mabel could reply, Stan joined in the teasing. "Now kid, be the _bigger_ man and stop arguing with your sister…"Dipper pouted and tried to think of a comeback, but he wasn't fast enough. "…If that's not too much of a _tall order_."

By this point Mabel was holding her sides and kicking her legs under the table.

"You know, I wouldn't mind being older too. Then you really would be my little brother."

"That sounds horrible."

"Hey, quit being _short_ with your sister."

"Bah hahaha!"

After growling under his breath, Dipper decided to go back to reading the newspaper.

-Page Break-

She was in the room; he knew it the moment he heard the fourth floorboard-next-to-the-closet creak in despair. Dipper pretended not to notice and remained lying over the edge of his bed, with the journal suspended above him. It would be more comfortable if the blood flow through his arms wasn't failing.

 _'Three…two…one.'_

"Hey doofus!" Her bright, upside-down face beamed down at him, revealing her braces.

"Here to throw more short puns at me?" He wasn't hiding that he felt slightly winded.

A finger jabbed him hard in the side right as she blew a raspberry.

"Don't be silly Dipping Sauce, I'm sorry about earlier." One thing that was easy to appreciate about Mabel was her ability to admit fault when she went too far. As if they were born to complement one another, he had always been the forgiving type.

"Heh, we're cool."

He felt her weight drop down next to him on the bed, looking up from the book he found her sitting up petting her pet pig, Waddles.

"What do you think Waddles? Would Grunkle Stan be happy if he were younger?" Of course, all Dipper could understand from the reply was a grunting noise. But Mabel either spoke pig, or just heard what she wanted to hear.

"I know right? And imagine if my brother was ten years younger. I'd have a baby brother!" This time Waddles responded with more of a squeal.

"I think I'm cool with us being twins." The bookworm cut in, voice cracking slightly. "It's enough being the exact same age as you, being your baby brother would just be… weird." He shuddered at the thought.

"Aw… But I could dress you up, play silly games with you and make you ride Waddles!" She counted on her fingers with each terrifying idea.

"…Maybe you should focus on Grunkle Stan's aging problem." He wasn't about to let her get carried away with this idea.

Unfortunately, he led her straight into another one.

"Hey! We could use your journal!"

"What?"

"Think about it, there could be something in this journal that'll help us take Stan back a few years." He recoiled when she made a grab at it, guarding it protectively.

"While that may be an idea, should we really be messing with nature like that? Or people's bodies?" His eye twitched. "…Especially Grunkle Stan's…."

Mabel wasn't about to give up, she held her arms out as if to relax him. "It won't hurt to just take a look. Come on Professor Cautious."

' _That's a new one.'_

Brow furrowed, he pointed a finger at her as if making a demand. "Okay okay, but stop coming up with those nicknames." He gently laid the book between them, pages fluttering as it opened and began flicking through. "I know I've seen something…"

Mabel leant forward and squeezed her grinning cheeks in quiet anticipation.

"Here it is." Professor Cautious ran his finger across the page as he read out loud. "Deep in the Eastern regions of the forest lies a supernatural plant species that has age altering properties."

He was interrupted by a hyperactive cry from his sister. "Pow! I knew there would be something useful!" Her arms waved wildly in the air as if swatting out flies.

He gave her smile and continued.

"It seems the dew of the Tree of Life will bestow youth upon its drinkers, while eating a seed from one of its branches will return a subject to their natural age." He rubbed under his nose, eyeing the following passages with squinting eyelids.

Mabel was already deep into celebration. "It's perfect! Dipper we have to get some of that dew for Stan, it would make him so happy!" The mattress groaned from her excited bouncing.

Dipper didn't feel so convinced and held out an open palm. "I don't know Mabel, the journal says this tree is right in the centre of one of Gravity Falls' most dangerous islands..." He tapped a warning on page, which in red ink said 'DO NOT ENTER'.

Mabel immediately dismissed the notion by blowing a raspberry. "'Dangerous forest'! We've been through worse!" She sulked on with a disappointed look on her face. "You're always going on about what the book says."

Before he could argue, she ripped off his hat and put it on, adopted a stiff posture and waved her arms robotically. This was her best Dipper impression. "We can't Mabel! The book says there're too many variables!"

His eyebrows knitted together. "You realise this journal is what told us about that tree in the first place?" In a swift motion, he swiped back his hat. "And stop pulling that face! I don't do that!"

This was met with a snort and gush of laughter.

"Come oooon, we'll be fine!"

Dipper raised his shoulders defiantly. "Even if we are fine, it's unnatural to just mess with people's ages. Besides I'm just trying to be more cautious and avoid crises like almost getting eaten alive by a giant, floating head!"

A spirit like Mabel's was hard to dampen and she didn't seem any closer to heeding his warning. She simply flashed her braces again. "But we always get out of those things just fine when we work together!" She was nudging his elbow now. "Right, bro?"

Not right.

"Ugh. Look Mabel, I know you want to help Grunkle Stan, but… maybe I should be more declarative. I'm not going. It's too dangerous just for some magic tree dew." It was clear that Dipper was trying to be a voice of reason, but it travelled through Mabel's head like a nagging white noise. Before she was able to protest, he hopped off the bed and gave her a prod in the arm with his ink pen. "And you're not going either, I don't want you getting yourself hurt."

She groaned in frustration. "Ugh! You always ramble on with your big words, babying me and treat me like I can't handle myself. I bet I could solve a mystery and prove that tree is real all by myself…" Her voice had elevated a little, joined by a sharp jab to his chest with her finger. "…without you!" Dipper opened his mouth to speak, but she had turned away, folding her arms defensively.

He gave a sigh, voice slightly shaky from exasperation or hurt, perhaps both. "Well you're not going to… and I don't wanna talk about this anymore."

And with that, she heard the bedroom door swing closed.

The bedroom felt roomier somehow, it left her with a sinking feeling of guilt. Perhaps she'd gotten too worked up. However, thought of being so patronised washed the feeling away and brought on a more determined expression.

"Fine..." She muttered under her breath. "I'll prove I can handle myself."

-Page Break-

"Doo doo doo, stocking shelves." Sang young Jesus Ramirez to no one in particular.

The gift shop looked the same as it always did the morning before opening. Dust filtered through the sun rays that cast a warm glow over the woodwork, leaving him with a good feeling about that day.

"I've got a good feeling about today!"

Jesus, known affectionately as 'Soos', stood large and plush. As always he was wearing his work uniform, formed only of a dark green XXL shirt which bore a question mark, beige shorts and a brown cap.

"Soos, today's gonna be a bad day."

A familiar, gravelly voice put an end to Soos' jolly working song. His gruff, yet beloved boss Stan Pines entered the shop, still tying the collar of his suit. Despite this blunt pessimism being a fitting part of Stan's personality, Soos looked at him with child-like curiosity.

"What do you mean, Mister Pines?"

"I've just had a morning of rambunctious whippersnappers reminding me how much it sucks being old." Stan's mood seemed as irritable as ever. While Soos admired his Boss like a boy admired a father, Stan viewed Soos like a man often views a child; dumb but useful.

His lovable handy-man chuckled. "And I thought Dipper used too many long words."

This didn't seem to raise Stan's spirits; he was now in a heated argument with the eyeballs stored in a jar on the counter. "How come none o' you got cataracts, huh?" His fist was shaking menacingly in the air.

"Hey Mister Pines, my Grandma always tells me age is like, just a number." Soos shrugged at the issue as if trying to comfort him. "Maybe you could, I dunno, try to live more like when you were younger."

To Soos' surprise, Stan actually seemed to perk up. His clouded eyes now centred on him, which only made him uneasy.

"You know what Soos, you're not so dumb after all!" Stan sprang up, a fiendish grin spreading over his craggy face. "Forget work! Let's hit the town, you and me!"


	3. Chapter Two: JUST DEW IT!

Chapter Two

JUST DEW IT!

Her brightly coloured backpack bounced as she skipped along the beaten, woodland path, humming a jolly tune. "Pfft, too dangerous." Mabel laughed to herself, feeling as carefree as ever. "During the day hardly anything scary appears." Based on their previous experiences, she wasn't entirely wrong.

Her jolly humming soon began to die down, however, as the trees grew thicker and the sun slipped out of view. Travelling deeper into the woods seemed to have led her somewhere with a more sinister atmosphere. The scattered shards of light filtering through the higher branches were now casting shadows of somewhat slender, twisted shapes.

"Hmmm…" She wore a more nervous smile now. ' _Did I make a wrong turn?_ ' She'd not had long to make note of the map she'd seen in Dipper's journal after all. She'd had to distract him by casually suggesting he form a to-do list while she 'borrowed' the journal. Dipper being Dipper meant building to-do lists took about as long as brushing your teeth. This had left Mabel with a hastily scrawled map drawn with crayons. Wind blew through the trees ahead making the tree branches sway eerily and sending an icy chill up her spine, despite her thick sweater. The shadowy figures danced against the trees as the branches swayed to and fro. But just as Mabel started to feel like turning around, she realised something.

 _'Why would wind be blowing here in a dense forest?'_ She put on her game face again and marched ahead against the breeze, her hair lifting gently from her shoulders.

She reached out and pulled aside some low hanging branches to peer out into a dimly lit clearing. A strange blue light illuminated her face, coming from what she could only assume were some kind of firefly. They formed a small cloud that hovered above a large pond or lake. Farther away, a high waterfall veiled down a cliff wall. "Woah…" It was not too different from the sights she'd seen elsewhere in Gravity Falls, but it still left her gazing in awe for a moment. Her eyes squinted when they fell over a small island in the centre of the water, not too far away.

"All right!" Cheering always helped her prepare for a task and luckily she was extra prepared today. The grass crumpled under her backpack while she dug inside, soon producing a flashlight and crumpled ball of plastic. Once Mabel had blown it up, the ball of plastic turned out to be a large inner tube. Had anyone else been with her, they would probably have died from laughter at her face as she puffed away almost crossing her eyes.

Once the inflatable raft was ready she eased herself across so her back dipped in the middle. She beamed with pride at her resourcefulness. "Floaty AND comfortable! Onward!" And onward she went, paddling with a large stick as if punting in Italy. The island grew closer and closer, all the time with more and more blue lights suspended in the cool air.

When she finally docked the island suddenly felt a whole lot bigger, almost as if it had miraculously expanded. Shrugging it off as nothing, Mabel strolled onward into the island's thick wood. This was not like the creepy place she'd left behind, instead the air around her felt lighter somehow and a gentle buzzing sound tickled her eardrums.

She soon came to a clearing that was lit up with bright blue specks that floated just above her head. This place seemed somehow more peaceful, as if time itself had slowed down around her. In the centre of the clearing stood a willow-like tree emerging from a pond. Was this the tree of life? She'd expected something taller and more impressive.

"Oooo…" As she gazed over the golden, spiralling bark she came upon something out of the ordinary. ' _A faucet?_ ' It stuck out of the base of the tree like some sort of garden decoration. "Well this makes perfect sense!" Her braces reflected the dancing blue glow of the clearing as she beamed with excitement.

"Here we go." Setting down her backpack again, this time she held up a drink container that was decorated with sparkly stickers. Collecting the dew wasn't quite so easy, turning the squeaky handle didn't seem to produce any product at first. It took a few moments but a bubble of dense, orange liquid finally emerged. Luckily she knew her tricks.

"Take that!" Slamming down her palm hard on the top of the pipe brought the drop down as if it were a syrup bottle. It only made her a little disappointed not to hear the rude noise that normally accompanied it.

She had succeeded! She held up her prize in victory and took a moment to smile and thank the tree before turning to leave.

Her trip home would be a safe one, she could feel it.

-Page Break-

Oliver was a young man just thrown into college. Like all college students he'd found himself a part-time job. Funding an education cannot always come from scholarships and allowances after all. Unbeknownst to poor Oliver, it was not two weeks into his new job at the Gravity Falls arcade when he was faced with a very strange situation.

How would a young, unremarkable man approach the scene unfolding in front of him? Two men; one round and soft, one angled and rough, arguing with a machine and attracting more than a few stares. The elderly man certainly did not look like he should be in an arcade but felt familiar in some way and Oliver couldn't escape the feeling that he shouldn't tangle with him. In the end he took the option to turn the other way and avoid unwanted trouble.

What Oliver missed would have likely baffled him more.

"Soos! These flashy new video games have way too many pixels!" Mr Pines complained loudly. "I can barely see 'em!" He squinted at the screen, crinkling a few dozen wrinkles around his eyes.

Poor Soos was giving his best effort to help his boss feel young again, but at most Stan was facing more reminders that his formative years were far behind him.

"Maybe if we tried one of Dipper's favourites." Soos suggested, gesturing to a console with a bare-chested and overly muscular man painted on the side.

Stan raised an eyebrow.

"Not sure you know me very well, Soos."

"Check it out Mr Pines! You can be in a virtual, outdoor bar-fight." Soos replied with a grin which emphasised his rodent-like front teeth.

The promised scenario appeared on the screen; two steroid enhanced and brightly coloured men were now engaged in the sort of combat you only see in kung fu movies.

It failed to impress a sulky Stan who waved a disapproving hand. "This is all fancy effects and magic punches! I'll show you a _real_ bar-fight." He announced before abandoning Soos and storming out of the arcade, much to Oliver's relief.

-Page Break-

"Ugh… finally." The sun had already started descend behind the shack as she made her way up to the side door, dragging her weary feet. It had been a few hours, but maybe no one noticed. Mabel wasn't usually the type to run off into trouble and fortunately Grunkle Stan wasn't the type to notice (or care) when someone did.

Stan wasn't the problem however. She took a second to check the window. Nope. No Dipper.

"Hmm…" This was strange, most evenings he'd always be watching TV by now. Had he been out all day as well? The feeling of being separated from him for a whole day was weird. They normally did everything together, but they'd both spent all day avoiding each other. Her face fell at the idea and her smile evaporated.

The door welcomed her with a creak as she slipped into the kitchen to stash her prize. There was fortunately no sign of anyone else.

Passing by the old beaten-up heater, she felt a damp on her leg and realised she'd stepped straight into a bucket. "Hehe. Hi there, mystery liquid!"

Being the prepared gal she was, she emptied out her backpack onto the table and cleaned herself off with a napkin that had been crumpled under her other items. However when she turned to collect the container, it was gone. Instead a large, quite wide figure stood by the table, holding up the bottle and eyeing it.

"Soos, No!" Her arms waved in the air to catch his attention. "It's… er poison!" Mabel hated lying but in a way a magical potion that makes you younger could be considered poison... maybe.

"Aw sweet! I've always wanted to know what poison tastes like." His eyes narrowed at the bottle and he stroked his chin. "But would it be worth the cost…?"

She should have known that wouldn't work. Her eyes darted around the room and fell over a round, pink bundle under the dining table.

"Waddles! Attack!"

 _Oink._

Her faithful friend hopped to his hooves and charged towards Soos, whom Mabel was waving a pointed finger at. Despite only moving at about a hundred feet per hour Waddles was apparently extremely intimidating and sent Soos fleeing from the room.

"No! The livestock is finally revolting!"

Mabel giggled victoriously and lovingly petted Waddles' head.

"Good boy!"

She ensured the juice bottle was securely stored at the back of the fridge in the mouldiest corner where no man dare tread. "Well that was a wild goose chase of a day!" She remarked while gesturing wiping sweat from her forehead. Waddles either grunted in agreement or said the word 'hornbill'.

She flashed him a cheeky grin.

"Wanna go read Dipper's diary until he comes home?"

-Page Break-

Having deserted Soos after the arcade incident, Stan found himself enjoying his evening more than expected. Since he had stumbled into a gloomy biker joint appropriately named Skull Fracture the loss of his youth seemed less of a preoccupation. As far as he was concerned the ability to waltz into a bar without needing ID and down beverages like tic tacs had been worth aging for.

"Hey barkeep, gimme another one o' those mood lighteners ya got there!"

Towards the back of the bar, the plastic mannequin of an arm-wrestling game fought a losing battle against a robust lumberjack. The mammoth of a man who was suitably nicknamed 'Manly Dan' uttered a strident shriek. This grabbed Stan's attention and reminded him why he was there.

"Oh yeah. BAR FIIIIIIGHT!"

His shrill voice had barely reached the walls before every bar patron was at arms. The establishment swiftly fell into chaos. Bar stools took flight, beverages stained every surface, profanities sang out in multiple dialects and the bar's jukebox coincidentally began blasting 'Bill out of Hell' by Maltloaf.

Stan himself had not yet been the target of any hostility owing to most of the bar-goers preferring not to harm an elderly man. Yet another advantage of being old.

But Stan was cad and exploited the situation by throwing an undeserved left-hook at a nearby biker, then making an abrupt exit while concurrently crowing with triumph.

"HA! Now your face is actually symmetrical!"

There was some standing space near the back door in which Stan could observe the rippling sea of warring drunkards and take the occasional sip from his brew. Admiring the sequential waves of flying fists up close rather than on TV was highly amusing. That was until he was interrupted by a knock at his side, launching his drink into the air and down his front.

He swung himself on his heel and rounded on the assailant. "Hey buster! How 'bout I teach you a lesson about respecting your elders!" He howled, swelling with rage. The ramble he had spouted proved to be inappropriate when he realised who had bumped into him. A snowy bearded, scraggy old timer donning a broken scarecrow's hat who could do with some footwear, turned and merely produced a screech of confusion. It was none other than the town's feral loon Old Man McGucket.

"Oh of all the wacky nutjobs in this town I had to get landed with senile Santa Claus." Griped Stan with a dismissive hand wave. He had never been tactful enough to keep his displeasure of McGucket discreet.

Oblivious to Stan's look of contempt, McGucket began dancing like a string puppet. "Ho ho ho down!" Sang the scramble-minded buffoon in his redneck accent, much to the dismay of the sane elder.

"Hey McGasket! I've had enough o' your wailin'!" Stan pointed a finger and gave him a couple of aggressive jabs to the chest. "We're in a bar riot, ya hip hoppity circus monkey!"

McGucket's eyes pointed in opposite directions and there was a brief intermission during which Stan had to wonder whether or not he was even conscious enough to comprehend what was said. The answer became clear when McGucket latched himself onto his face like an enraged raccoon suffering from rabies. It wasn't long before this escalated into a full on old man fist fight, accompanied by a local called Tyler calling "Git 'em! Git 'em!"

The wrath, the carnage, the uncensored vulgarities.

It's no wonder the rest of the room sheathed their fists to watch and cheer, now punching the air instead of each other's faces. A few younger men even grouped together to place bets.

In the midst of the fisticuffs no one seemed to notice when Stan snuck a few dollars into a gentlemen's pocket and muttered something with a shady wink. No one suspected when he suddenly buckled under McGucket's choke hold, much to the disappointment of most of the betters. Somehow there wasn't a single accusation when Stan made some brief transaction with the winners after the fight.

He had to admit it; the townsfolk of Gravity Falls were the dumbest people alive, but dumb people make for easy money.

Old Man McGucket sat alone at the front of the bar, soothing his sore head. He peeled a bandage from his beard to smooth across his bald head underneath his hat. There was seemingly no immediate reason for why such a thing was stored in his beard, but it was there.

"How's that head, brother?"

Stan appeared next to him, speaking with a warmer tone now. He flashed a crooked grin and pulled up a stool. The bearded kook rubbed his head with a pained look on his face.

"Ma heads a buzzing like a scrambubbled beehive." He squawked, earning a snigger from Stan who offered him a pat on the back.

"Sounds like I owe you a drink."

-Page Break-

"Hmm… let's see, this one's gotta be a thumbs up."

Sitting in her sea of plush toys, Mabel had distracted herself by writing all about her adventure in collecting the dew into her diary.

"Hey Waddles, I wrote this part in purple. Which sticker do you think works?"

 _Snort._

"Ah! Of course! You smart pig you." She giggled to herself and brought Waddles in for a hug.

The door creaked without warning, making her jump and hurriedly stash the diary under her pillow.

"Dipper! You're back late." She gave a guilty laugh.

He hadn't seemed to notice.

"Yeah, I thought I found that candy monster again under the shack, but it turned out to be one of Grunkle Stan's old socks…." He paused at the bed with his eye twitching. "I'm having nightmares tonight."

Mabel's shoulders bounced with laughter, oh the joy of Stan's old laundry. "You gonna be reading tonight?" She chose casual conversation, after what happened that day she just wanted to talk to him about anything.

"Nah, I'm pretty tired actually… feel like I'm coming down with something."

Mabel watched him hang his hat on the bedside revealing a fluffy, autumn brush of hair. He still had his back to her as he was sliding under his blankets. He wasn't usually so hard to read. Maybe he just needed some cheering up.

"Oh, well I'm sure with a good night's sleep you'll be bright as bacon!" She pumped an arm enthusiastically, even though he wasn't looking.

"Heh, thanks."

There was a silence in which Dipper rolled over onto his back and looked over at her. Being the predictable guy he was, he had a concerned expression on his face. He quickly looked away and Mabel caught a hint of sadness.

"Hey, um. Sorry about earlier. I don't know if you realise it but I know you can handle yourself." He flashed a reassuring smile.

' _Gah! Why is he always so nice when I'm feeling guilty?!_ '

What a jerk.

Mabel couldn't deny it was nice to hear though and was even starting to forget why she'd gotten worried to start with.

"Really?" Perhaps she had overreacted. The frustration from earlier that day almost felt like a distant memory now.

"Sure." His voice was light and encouraging. "Remember how you dealt with those gnomes when we first got here? Besides, when did big words ever save us from monsters…?"

Mabel heard his voice trail off towards the end and noticed his eyes fall.

Was he doubting himself?

"Aw, don't be like that. Your big brain always figures stuff out." Her words came out more calm and soft than usual. They had known each other their whole lives and she knew when to be sensitive. "And er… I'm sorry I got so worked up, I was just starting to feel like dead weight or something."

To her surprise, he cut in pretty sharply.

"You're not dead weight Mabel! Besides right now I feel too sick to think, let alone figure anything out."

"You feeling that bad?"

"Don't sweat it, I'll be fine." He shuffled his feet under the blankets to get comfortable. "I found some juice in the fridge for vitamins."

Juice is delicious and nutritious!

"Well okay! Goodnight Dipper."

"Goodnight Mabel."

"You better feel better!"

The light distinguished and the room feel dark, but somehow she could hear him worrying to himself from across the room. It was a short but awkward silence in which she admired her glowing ceiling stars.

"Hey…"

"Yeah Dip?"

"We're still the mystery twins right?"

With their eyes adjusted to the low lighting they caught each other's glance and both gave a smile.

"Mystery twins for life."

-Page Break-

One sleepless hour into the night, Mabel had found her carefree attitude quite absent. ' _What am I gonna tell Dipper?'_ Running off without him after a fight like that, surely he'd be mad when he found out. _'Maybe I should just throw that juice away…_ '

That was when it hit her.

"Wait… JUICE?!" It couldn't be!

She rose with a start and peered to the other side of the room. With the help of the moonlight shining through their attic window she could make out a seemingly peaceful, sleeping Dipper.

"Phew…." All was well.

"Jeez, I'm becoming as paranoid as he is!" Once her pillow was suitably fluffed, she slipped off into a deep sleep. Probably dreaming of a galaxy far, far away… with sugar coated rooftops and no dental care.


	4. Chapter Three: Honeydew Shrunk the Kid

Chapter Three

Honeydew Shrunk the Kid

The orange of her eyelids alerted her to the sunshine of a jolly morning. It never took her long to perk up and adjust to the brightness of a sunny day, unlike Dipper, who was likely still lolling about in dreamland.

Mabel stretched out her small body, letting out a cheerful sigh. "What a great night's sleep!" Time to wake the Captain.

"Morning Dipper!"

…

No answer.

"Huh?"

Something wasn't right, his bed was empty. Where would he have gone so early in the day? "Sherbet Dip?" Leaning closer towards his bed, she could see only a crumpled blanket. He really had disappeared.

…Or had he?

A warmth brushed against her side under her blanket, a wriggly lump made itself known.

"Morning Waddles!"

Excited to greet her favourite pig, she eagerly pulled away the covers. But right as she lifted the blanket she heard a snort from the end of her bed and looked up to see her beloved pet grunting at her in reply.

"Wait… then what's-" Looking down, she saw something that was certainly not a pig…

It was Dipper, a Dipper she hadn't seen for quite some time.

Snuggled against her leg after having climbed in with her that night, was what appeared to be a young toddler not more than a year old. His tiny body had curled into a ball not much bigger than an average teddy bear and sported a full head of brown fur to match.

For once in at least a few months, Mabel was lost for words. In a single gut wrenching moment shock, parental responsibility, maternal instinct and the overwhelming adorableness of the sleeping baby Dipper all washed over her.

She sadly hadn't been offered long to gather herself when it moved. A wriggle, a weak gurgle and the tiny bundle rolled onto his back, slowly opened two enormous eyes and blinked up at her.

Still speechless, she merely gaped back down at the confused toddler who stared back and pulled his characteristic pout of curiosity.

"…Uh… Dipper?" No answer.

"Am I still dreaming?" She grabbed the fun stick and jabbed herself in the side, hard.

"Nope, real life."

Baby Dipper rolled himself forward and sat up, still staring blankly at her. She now noticed his socks and shorts were gone and his shirt had become some kind of night gown.

Unsure of what to do or say, Mabel just gave him a nervous smile. He blinked at her again with vacant expression and then a small smile formed on his cheek. There was a sharp tug on her heartstrings. Maybe she was right and having a baby brother wouldn't be so bad.

Their meaningful moment was brought to a sudden close by their Grunkle's shrieking voice from the downstairs hallway

"Kids! It's morning and Grunkle Stan has a hangover!"

Mabel nearly jumped out of her braces.

"Oh no!"

Stan couldn't see this.

She'd come up with an excuse for Dipper but more pressingly, she'd have to find help.

Fast.

Turning her attention back to her now baby brother, Mabel spoke to him gently as if bargaining with him.

"Can you promise me you'll stay quiet until I get back-up?"

Of course he couldn't, in fact there was no evidence he could even talk yet.

…Or was potty trained.

A large puddle was now emerging in the centre of her mattress. Mabel understandably did not appreciate this.

"Gah! You couldn't at least do that in your own bed?!"

This was not a fun start to a fun day.

Dipper didn't seem to appreciate the circumstances either judging by the contorted expression on his face and tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

This was bad.

"No no! If Grunkle Stan hears you I'll be grounded!" Shrinking your sibling into a baby was probably good cause for punishment.

He was practically sobbing already as she wrapped him in a towel and attempted to calm him down. He was much lighter than she expected, even as a baby he was as scrawny as ever.

"Sh sh. Please don't cry, Stan's hearing sucks but it's not _that_ bad."

With a few bounces and hugs, the sobbing died down.

"Here." Keeping him swaddled up, the newfound babysitter tucked him into bed.

His own bed this time.

"Just stay here and keep quiet until I get back. I promise I won't take too long."

The vacant gaze he was giving her offered no confidence that he'd understood.

"D'aw! You're so adorable!" It didn't seem to bother her.

"Don't go anywhere!"

When Mabel made it downstairs she found Grunkle Stan slumped into his armchair in front of the TV, scratching his back. He immediately eyed the empty space next to her.

"Mabel, where's your brother?"

The question left her gesticulating wildly.

"He's um… staying in bed all day with a cold." She attempted an innocent grin.

"He said he wasn't feeling well yesterday so there's nothing suspicious about that!"

Luckily for Mabel, Stan was too lazy to pursue the subject and he merely shrugged.

"Good enough for me."

There was a brief silence broken only by the sound of Stan's fingernails dragging against his hairy back. This was the first silence in quite a while that succeeded in making Mabel feel an awkward chill. She was pondering whether this was how Dipper must feel all the time, when Stan grumbled.

"Last thing I need is some virus affecting my sales… Speaking of-" he rounded on her. "-hustle your heiny to work!"

She would have to use her powers of charisma to unpick her way out of this obligation.

"Oh…. er. I can't!" Spluttered Mabel. "I better keep an eye on Dipper. You know, 'cause he's sick." Before Grunkle Stan could oppose, a friendly voice cut in.

"Dude, Dipper's sick?" Soos had joined them from the gift shop.

Mabel took the opportunity and waved her arms frantically at Soos like a courting duck.

"Yeah! He's super sick and we've probably all caught it." She turned to Stan now.

"We should all take the day off!"

The news perturbed a gullible Soos, who gasped in shock.

"It has begun." He stated with only the most serious of looks.

Stan however, was not at all convinced.

"The only sickness you two have is chronic insanity." He rose with a glare from his armchair and emitted a number of cracks from his spine as it straightened.

"Now let's open shop."

Without grasping any other option, Mabel opted to collapse on the floor in an over dramatized coughing fit.

"Bwaaargh! Ahck ahck!"

As luck would have it, Soos was now so convinced that he immediately joined her. The two of them writhed around on the carpet in fake agony.

Poor Grunkle Stan could only sigh in dismay at the unfurling scene of bewildering stupidity.

"If I give you two the day off, will you both stop that disturbing routine?" He negotiated with deep regret in his tone.

Mabel was miraculously cured and leapt to her feet.

"Yes!" She promised.

Soos mirrored Mabel and jumped to his paws.

"Maybe!" He agreed… sort of.

The two of them felt a burning scorn from Stan as he eyeballed them with a furrowed brow before rolling those eyeballs and skulking off, grumbling under his breath about 'lazy, unreliable clowns'.

Once the grumpy elephant was out of hearing-aid distance, Mabel turned to Soos.

"Okay Soos. We're not actually sick," She explained with urgency, "there's a… situation."

"Yes!" Cheered Soos in relief. "…But the chronic insanity thing, is that somethin' to worry about?"

Mabel went on as if she hadn't heard him.

"I need you to get Candy and Grenda over here right away." Her fingers laced across her chin and she spoke aloud to herself.

"I'm gonna need serious backup and they're all I've got."

Soos finally picked up that something was wrong.

"What's going on Mabel-dude?" He asked her, starting to look worried.

Mabel explained. "I wanted to make Stan younger but Dipper wouldn't help so I went into the woods to get a magical potion to give to Stan but Dipper drank it and now he's a baby and I have to change him back before Stan finds out or I'll be grounded for the rest of the summer." This was no time to stand around giving a full briefing so reeling everything out should have to do.

Somehow it actually worked.

"Got it!" Her amiable sidekick pulled back his cap to face backwards and stared adamantly into the distance.

"This is a job for Soos!" He cried, racing out the door as if charging into battle.

-Page Break-

The bedroom door swung open with gusto and Mabel charged in full pelt, to find her baby brother exactly where she had left him. However somehow he'd acquired an ink pen and was happily chewing on the cap. She skimmed over that detail; there were more important things at hand.

"Okay Dippler, Candy and Grenda are on their way." She joined him on the bed with a nimble hop over the frame.

"I'll get you back to normal, I promise!" Unsure what kind of response to expect, she just gave a reassuring smile while he spat out the pen and watched her silently.

A dark and cunning realisation pooled within her that her wish had been granted. She couldn't resist beaming at her miraculous luck.

"But at least now you really can be my baby brother!" He didn't show any objection so she continued regardless. "…and you're so adorable!" Finally she could stop substituting with dolls and play with a real baby, why hold back?

She tickled his belly, pinched his cheeks, ruffled his hair and squeezed his toes, all the time teasing out tiny squeals of delight. There was no denying that she was probably enjoying this more than she should.

When she noticed her pet pig resting on the floor next to them, she looked from Dippler to Waddles and back. The idea she had the day before sprung back into her head, and all ideas are good ideas! So she gently seated her new toy onto his new found steed's back and admired the result. It was a sight to behold. Who could have known when they had arrived in Gravity Falls that at any point a baby Dipper would be mounted atop a pig?

Mabel threw forth a fist in declaration.

"To parenthood!"

The rest of that morning was jam packed with some of the best fun ever! A montage of colour and upbeat music, a melody of fun and DJ keyboard sounds, all topped off with some silly hats and finger painting.

By the time a powerful knock very near sent their door spinning off its hinges and a voice announced "Heeere's Grenda!" Mabel had virtually forgotten that anyone was coming over.

"Guys! Come in!" With enthusiastic waves she welcomed Soos and her two best friends Candy and Grenda.

As they piled in, they surveyed evidence of five board games, dress-up, tic-tac-toe and a number of activities not one of them could make sense of.

Quirky and intelligent Candy adjusted her glasses and greeted Mabel with a thick Korean accent. "We came as soon as we could, I brought baby care supplies."

"We heard your brother got, like, shrunk or something." Grenda finished in a contrasting deep and gruff voice.

Being best friends, it was typical of Candy and Grenda to bounce off one another despite having such different outward appearances. For one, Grenda was at least twice Candy's size.

Mabel quickly hushed them and directed them to Dipper's bed. "I just got him to sleep." She told them, allowing the entity himself to explain the rest.

There he lay, President Paranoia, Commander Curious himself sleeping soundly in the thick wool of a baby's lamb costume, with any concern he may have had for the outer world quietly shelved away for the time being.

"Really?" Questioned Candy, grinning in guilty approval.

"I don't think he'd approve dawg."

Mabel waved away Soos' warning like a bothersome fly.

"It was all I had in that size!" She wasn't lying.

"I like it!" Grenda liked it.

Candy retrieved a clamshell phone from her pocket and snapped a few photos.

"Well if there's no other choice!" With a few more beeping sounds, the photo was shrouded in sparkles and bright annotations.

"That better not reach the internet, Candy. Or I'll have some explaining to do." Mabel frowned, somehow retaining her smile.

"I promise." Maybe if Mabel had made her cross her heart, she would have stopped her crossing her fingers behind her back.

Grenda raised an oversized hand and an equally sized issue.

"Are we really old enough to be responsible for a toddler?" It was common for her to be a voice of reason but perhaps because of her deep voice, it was hard to take her seriously.

Mabel responded by immediately throwing her index finger skyward and announcing, "Age is irrelevant!" then shoving a pipe into her mouth which emitted a burst of bubbles.

It was Soos' turn to question the situation.

"But, like, what's the plan?" He asked the three young girls, despite being in his early twenties.

With her hands to her hips, Mabel commanded the room's attention.

"I was thinking you two." Her fingers targeted Candy and Grenda.

"Could help me look after this little man while I find a way to get him back to normal."

Candy cupped her chin and nodded along while Mabel moved over to Soos.

"Soos, your job is simple; distract Stan until our job is done." At this she folded her arms proudly to convey that the meeting was adjourned.

Soos gave a salute and barged his way out the bedroom door.

"Soos away!"

After watching Soos leave, Candy and Grenda turned back to find Mabel already with the journal in her hands.

"Alright girls, let's get this mystery mission moving!" Trust Mabel to still have this much energy even after spending all morning caring for a toddler.

Her two best friends joined her side to examine the pages she had opened. The bold warnings adorning the illustrations cast concern over their faces.

"Sure looks like this place doesn't like visitors." Voiced Grenda with low folds of worry for her best friend riddled through her tones.

"You went here all by yourself, Mabel?" Candy harmonised with Grenda how a soprano might with a baritone.

Despite speaking only with their friend's best interests in mind, they found Mabel avoiding the topic. She wasn't ready to admit she was wrong for running off alone, even if she was already regretting it.

"Well I wasn't _entirely_ alone." Mabel argued. "I had me, myself and I." She finished with a laugh.

Candy and Grenda exchanged concerned glances.

"You're not going to go back there, are you?" Candy asked her.

Mabel kept her eyes on the pages of the journal.

"I don't have a choice." She answered having spotted something on the page. "To get him back to his actual age I need a seed from this tree. Ugh! Why didn't I pick one up the first time I went?!" Mabel was knocking her own head now in self-punishment.

"Well if you're going back we're going with you." Boomed Grenda.

"Yes! You don't have to do this alone." Piped Candy.

"Great girls! Your support is appreciated." Mabel held her hand over her heart in a somewhat humble manner. But moments later she was distracted by gurgling.

"Buuuuut maybe we can enjoy this a bit longer first."

And then she was pinching Dippler's feet and waving them up and down.

"Candy likes!" Candy lifted Dippler up and gave him a joyful bounce.

He was then held out for Grenda.

"Here, your turn!"

Grenda held up her arms to shield herself and recoiled.

"ARGH! Responsibility! Get it away!"

Apparently she didn't share Candy's enthusiasm.

Dippler appropriately chose this time to burst into ferocious sobbing, the kind that only a young toddler can produce. Candy came a little too close to dropping him as his body racked.

"Ah!" She caught him and carefully eased him down.

Grenda threw her arms up to her head to pull on her hair.

"It's making noises! What do we do?" It was easy to guess she didn't have any relatives too much younger than herself.

"Maybe he's teething." Candy proposed while offering the tiny, wailing person a binky.

He immediately spat it out like a kid might with any green vegetable and went straight back to crying at high volume.

"Step aside girls, I got this." Unlike her friends, Mabel looked completely unshaken.

She marched forward with confidence and from her pocket, brandished an old and unassuming ball point pen, which she then jammed lid first into the crying baby's mouth.

The noise completely ceased.

Candy and Grenda smiled and gave nods of approval.

"I guess you know your brother better than we do." Remarked Candy while watching the toddler happily chewing on the poor, unfortunate writing tool.

"That's right, Mabel to the rescue!" Mabel pumped a fist towards the mouldy attic ceiling.

The next couple of hours were not as easy as the young girls had planned. While they were hoping for some mindless fun, caring for a toddler turned out to be a fair bit more exhausting than their imaginative brains had previously thought.

When another crying fit occurred Candy managed to quell the tantrum this time by distracting the distressed baby with a UV light.

This didn't last too long however and the same happened again after a half hour of precious quiet.

"Gah! He's woken up from his nap!" Candy needlessly informed the others.

Grenda was feeling brave this time and cautiously approached with an offering of a cuddly penguin.

"Take this and silence your unholy racket!" She cried.

After a brief look at the stuffed animal, Dippler decided it wasn't what he needed and resumed the tantrum.

Candy and Grenda now turned to Mabel, who appeared to be staying cool.

"What do we do?" Pleaded Candy.

Mabel took a breath.

"I know just what to do!" She assured them before snatching up the journal and thrusting it into Dipplers arms.

Once again the crying halted in a second and the mini-Dipper was contentedly snuggling into the old, withered book.

"Thank goodness…" Grenda's shoulders dropped as if some stressful weight had just been lifted from her back.

A gasp burst out of Candy when she looked at her smiley-face watch.

"We need to get going! Our parents will be serving dinner soon."

She and Grenda went about rounding up their things while Dippler fell into a snooze over the open journal.

"See you tomorrow Mabel! We'll go find that tree as a team." Grenda bellowed with a waving hand, it was a wonder her voice didn't disturb the sleeping toddler.

Candy followed Grenda with another wave.

"You can borrow the baby supplies until then!"

Mabel waved them off with her eager smile and then turned back to the attic bedroom with her back to the door… then collapsed into a heap of exhaustion.

"Uuuuuuugh, my everything hurts…" She moaned aloud.

Despite putting on a brave face for her friends, she had to admit looking after a baby was nothing like kid's doll commercials made it out to be. She lay face down on the wooden floor, her speech muffled into the boards.

"Just leave me here to sleep forever…"

As it happens, pigs do not understand English. Thus her pet Waddles soon came to see what his owner was doing, sniffing her head with a guttural snort. Mabel wasn't one to mind.

"Haha, thanks Waddles." His affections had apparently rejuvenated her.

She pulled herself up so she could give the adorable little man a big hug, when something caught her eye.

Across the room Dippler was still sound asleep over the outstretched journal pages and just a few feet away a hand held UV light was still emitting a pink beam. What had captured her attention however was the glowing ink covering the open page.

She had completely forgotten that some secrets in the journal had been written in invisible ink.

"Of course!" She exclaimed quietly to herself, not wanting to wake Dippler up.

Moving closer, she noticed the journal was conveniently opened to the page she needed; that darn tree! Just beside Dippler's cheek there was a glowing passage that choked out an icy gasp from her throat.

'The seed is only effective if consumed within-'

"24 hours." Mabel slowly turned her head towards Waddles in horror.

"That means I only have tonight…"

'… _Oink?'_


End file.
